After caring for the infant for five years, a Texas State University student, 27, who discovered a baby boy in a trash can and covered in ants while on vacation in Haiti has announced that he is adopting the child.

Jimmy Amisial traveled to his native Haiti in 2017 to see his mother. He was 22 years old, on a little break from his studies in communication and electronic media at Texas State University. He made the decision to pay a visit to the nearby orphanage because he used to volunteer there as a youth. He passed a large group of people clustered over a trash can on the way there.

According to the Daily Mail, Amisial found a 4-month-old baby in a trash can covered in ants prompting him to take the child home to his mother, Elicie Jean, 66.

“When I woke up that day, I was totally unaware that my life was about to change forever,” he said.

“People were crowding round this bin, and I heard them arguing about what to do with this tiny baby. Everyone was just staring at him; not a single soul wanted to help,” Amisial said. “He was crying and had no clothes on and I could see the pain in his eyes — I had to do something.”

Elicie and Amisial washed, clothed, and fed the baby before contacting the police, who could not locate the parents. A judge on the case asked Amisial if he would like to adopt the baby leaving him to make a big decision- being the child’s legal guardian, who he calls Emilio Angel Jeremiah.

“When I was asked to raise him, I stayed awake for days tossing and turning, trying to make a decision. I was already behind on my university fees, and my family has always struggled to make ends meet,” Amisial said about adopting Emilio.

 

“But I didn’t have a dad growing up, and this poor child was facing a lifetime of instability and uncertainty. Something inside was telling me that this had happened for a reason — so I took a leap of faith,” he said. “Sometimes, you don’t have to know what to do; you just have to be ready to do it.”

Amisial raised the little child over the ensuing years and was officially recognized as his guardian. He has been spending his time between Texas to study and Gonaives, Haiti, where Emilio is being cared for by his mother. According to Good News Network, he wants to formally adopt him.

“It’s been fun seeing him grow. He’s a joy to be around,” Amisial said. “Mom loves him, the kids in the orphanage love him, and I love him as if he were my own. He really is a special little boy.”

In 2020, Amisial applied to adopt Emilio to become his dad officially. Due to the $30,000 needed to complete the adoption, Amisisal is unsure of the date for completion. Emilio is nearly 5 years old.

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