WASHINGTON (TND) — A 27-year-old man from Haiti said he is grateful for support from the public, as donations have been pouring in to help him adopt a baby he found in a trash pile four-and-a-half years ago.
Jimmy Amisial said strangers raised more than $72,000 tofinalize the adoption process of the child, whose name is Emilio.
I’m very excited and I’m happy that it’s finally going to happen because I’ve been waiting for that for a long time,” Amisial told The National Desk during a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon, adding that the funds were raised in less than a month.“I didn’t think it was going to happen that quick. I was so completely overwhelmed by the kindness and support. People were really touched by the story.”
Amisial said he found Emiliowhen the child was only a few months old.
Now, Amisial said, Emilio just finished his second year of school and is an exceptionally smart child.
He started learning Spanish and he will start learning English this year,”Amisial noted in a Facebook post, with Emilio set to start his third year of school in September.
Amisial, who is currently living in New York while Emilio is in Haiti, went on to describe Emilio as a blessing. He added that he has enjoyed watching the boy grow.
He is simply a joy to be around,” Amisial noted on social media. “Everyone loves (him and) the kids in the orphanage have so much admiration for him. My mom adores him.”
Yet, they haven’t seen each other in-person since 2019.
For now, Amisial said he communicates with Emilio through “WhatsApp,” which is a messaging app.
I still get to see him and talk to him,”Amisial told The National Desk.“He loves playing soccer and basketball.”
Amisial said he found the infant while he was visiting his family in Haiti during Christmastime.
At the time, Amisial was 22 years old. He said he was bringing presents for children at an orphanage on New Year’s Eve when he made the shocking discovery.
While he said a group of people gathered around the baby, no one offered any help.
It was so sad to see,” Amisial said. “I had tears in my eyes when I saw him. People didn’t want to touch him. They thought he was cursed. They thought if you touch him, you will hone the evil in him. To me, I could see a precious, beautiful soul. He was crying and in excruciating pain.”
But he gathered the child in his arms and headed to his mother’s house.
I had to save him. He had fire ants crawling all over him and we cleaned and clothed him,” Amisial said. “We couldn’t take him to the doctor that night, but we used some kind of cream to ease the pain. The next day, we took him to the doctor.”
They also called police, wholaunched an investigation and they verified that the baby was abandoned.
Amisialadded that authorities later asked him to be the child’s legal guardian. At first, he said he was plagued by confusion and concern.
“It didn’t seem to make sense to me,”Amisial wrote. “My spirit was agitated and kept me awake for days thinking about what to do.”
But he said he eventually found the courage and took action. He said he has taken time out of school and got a full-time job in order to help Emilio.
“It was difficult for me to go to school and take care of him at the same time,” he said.
In Amisial’s Facebook post, he credited his mother for “stepping up” and being there for him and Emilio.
He also thanked the public for making the process easier for him and his loved ones, especially Emilio.
Thank you for your contribution and your generosity!” Amisial wrote. “I appreciate all the love. Your care and concern go above and beyond.”
Amisial said any extra funds will be used for Emilio’s schooling, as well as support children in the orphanage and the surrounding community.
Plus, he said he might use some money to fund his own education and school debts, as he previously studied mass communications at Texas State University.
“(The donations) might also be used in me returning to school,”Amisial noted.
In the meantime, he is looking forward to celebrating Emilio’s fifth birthday, which is Aug. 31.
He also said he can’t wait to be reunited with Emilio — and credited strangers for making it possible.
“With love and kindness, we can really connect the world,” he said.