Jose Milagro "miracle"
We showed up at the ruin of a house in Chapala in June 2019, armed with cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, and buckets, called to help via a local Facebook group. Beyond the wall was filth and chaos defying description, and in the middle of this inferno was Jose, scooting around in the dirt, dragging his useless legs behind him. Clad in a shirt and in a diaper, clutching a corn tortilla. He was almost eight years old and grossly underweight. How he was even alive was a miracle, milagro. Locals had long been aware of Joe's plight and his tragic family circumstances. His great grandmother, Anita had taken him in after his mother was found in an unmarked grave, a victim of all too common drug wars, and his father, though unlisted on his birth certificate, was in prison on drug charges. At this point, Jose was very young but it soon became clear he could not walk so he joined the dogs and cats on the ground eating what he could find or was tossed his way. No one worked in the fa...