A Texas State student is going viral online and being praised for his compassion after his decision to adopt a baby he found in the trash.
In 2017, Texas college student Jimmy Amisial was visiting his family in Haiti for New Year’s when he made a heartbreaking discovery—a baby abandoned in a pile of trash.
“You could see him crying. He had no clothes on, and fire ants were crawling all over him,” Amisial told Fox News.
The infant was left helpless and alone, but Jimmy didn’t hesitate to step in.
The baby boy, named Emilio Angel Jeremiah, was just four months old when Jimmy Amisial heard his desperate cries.
Locals had gathered around, but due to deep-rooted Haitian superstitions, no one dared to help.
“They thought the baby was cursed,” Jimmy recalled. “They said it was New Year’s Eve, and the devil was trying to get us.”
But Jimmy couldn’t walk away. A longtime volunteer at Haitian orphanages, he scooped the baby up and took him home.
Soon after, Haitian authorities and a judge visited Jimmy, then just 22 and a college student, and asked if he wanted to become Emilio’s legal guardian.
It was a moment that changed both their lives forever.
“Even though I didn’t know how I was going to take care of him, I took a leap of faith and said yes,” Jimmy shared.
Taking on such a huge responsibility wasn’t easy—it brought challenges Jimmy could have avoided if he’d said no.
He’s faced financial hardships and even had to pause his college education to care for Emilio and support his own mother.
Today, his mother looks after the now 4-year-old Emilio in Haiti.
“To me, his cries were saying, ‘Save me,’” Jimmy said.
Despite the challenges, Jimmy has no regrets about stepping in as Emilio’s father.
“Whenever he talks to me, he says, ‘Oh Daddy, I need this, I need that. I need a tablet, buy me a bike,’” Jimmy shared. “He has someone he can go to, and I’m very proud of that.”
To cover the adoption costs, Jimmy launched a fundraiser, which has raised $60,000 so far. His ultimate dream is to bring Emilio to the United States. Any remaining funds will go toward finishing his college education and securing a better future for Emilio.
