This young man could not leave the baby in the garbage and took him to him
“He had no clothes on. He had fire ants crawling all over him because he’s been there for a couple of hours,” he recounted. “When I picked him up, he immediately stopped crying.”
Who would have thought that attending a New Year’s Eve party could actually change your life?
Jimmy Amisial was strolling through his hometown of Gonaives, Haiti, on a break from school in Texas to celebrate the New Year with his friends when his life abruptly changed.
While walking, he noticed a small crowd.
As he made his way to the event, he approached the small group of people with curiosity and made a discovery that would change his life forever.
Instead of attending the celebration as planned, Amisial decided to take possession of a baby he found in the trash.
Amisial took him in right away.
“When I got to the place where the people were making noise, I saw a baby,” Jimmy, who was 22 years old at that time, recalled. “It was in a pile of trash crying and there wasn’t a single soul who wanted to do anything about it.”
The villagers were terrified because they thought the baby was cursed or wicked. Amisial, on the other hand, gently and cautiously picked up the child.
He wasn’t scared in the least.
“He had no clothes on. He had fire ants crawling all over him because he’s been there for a couple of hours,” he recounted. “When I picked him up, he immediately stopped crying.”
Amisial escorted the 3-month-old baby to the home of his shocked mother, Elicie Jean.
Nonetheless, she took the baby in.
“While cleaning him we noticed he had some fire ant bites and an allergic reaction, so we used some lotion to help stop the pain,” Amisial shared.
He kept the baby overnight and filed a police report so that the situation could be investigated. A judge came to their house and asked Amisial if he wanted to take temporary custody of the child because no one had come forward to claim it.
But he needed time to think about it.
“After he asked me that question, I had a lot of sleepless nights. I tossed and turned but my mother reminded me things happen for a reason. I’ve always wanted to be a part of something great and to me, that was the moment,” he said.
Amisial agreed to care for the abandoned child after developing a relationship with him. Amisial is currently working to legally adopt the child he has been carrying since that fateful night.
Amisial made the decision to legally adopt the child.
Amisial’s student visa program required him to return to Texas at the end of his Christmas break, so he had no choice but to comply. He made the decision to leave the infant with his mother while they worked on the procedure to take the child into custody.
Amisial began the adoption process in 2019, but encountered difficulties right away. Adopting a child in Haiti could cost up to $40,000, which was out of his price range.
But he was persistent.
Amisial decided to take a year off from school in 2020 to focus on the custody battle for Emilio Angel Jeremih, his child. He works as a part-time landscaper and delivery assistant to support himself and his family.
On July 27, Amisial launched an internet fundraising campaign for Emilio’s adoption. The goal was to raise $60,000, but contributions exceeded $79,000. Amisial plans to pay for Emilio’s education and donate any remaining funds to Haitian orphans.
Amisial is invincible.
Emilio now has a wonderful personality and attends school four years after that memorable event. Amisial, now 27, is determined to complete his education once Emilio’s custody case is resolved.
“I want him to be happy. I want to teach him how to love and I want him to know that even though he was left alone, he’s not alone,” he said.
Amisial hopes to realize his dream of assisting orphans and low-income families in Haiti by establishing his own non-profit organization. Excellent work!
