Jimmy Amisial, a 22-year-old Texas State University student, is attempting to legally adopt a boy he found in a trash can while visiting his family in Haiti in 201. Emilio Enjole Jeremiah, the baby found abandoned, is now 5 years old and he’s living with Amisial’s mother in Haiti.

Amisial’s goal, according to KXAN, is to bring the child to the U.S. The 22-year-old, who expects to have his college degree in the coming spring, hopes the boy will be in the U.S. by then.

Amisial was in disbelief five years ago when he joined a large crowd on the street and saw the baby boy who was covered in fire ants and crying for help.while sitting in trash.

“I saw there were about 15 to 20 people staring at the baby on the pile of trash,” Amisial told KXAN. “He had no clothes on. He was crying. I could hear the pain in his voice.” 

Police searched for the boy’s parents while Amisial took him to his own family’s home in Haiti. The child was then bathed, clothed and fed. But his parents were never found.

A judge then asked Amisial if he would be willing to be the child’s legal guardian. The young man thought about the question for a few days and agreed to take care of the baby.

As he now continues with the process of trying to legally adopt Emilio, Amisial said he’s happy to have the opportunity to transform the boy’s life “from being abandoned in the trash into a wonderful treasure.”

“He loves to dance. He loves music. He loves to play the guitar,” Amisial said about Emilio.