When I began writing “The Tiger Trilogy: The Songs of Sophia,” I knew I wanted to create a character who embodied wisdom, compassion, and the fierce determination to fight injustice. One of the people that I found that inspiration in was Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, whose extraordinary life story became one of the driving forces behind the character of Sophia in my book. I met first in 2018 when she was Vice President of Costa Rica.
Meeting a Real-Life Force for Change
Ana Helena’s story first captured my attention through her groundbreaking work with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). But as I learned more about her journey, I discovered something far more profound than policy innovation—I found a woman whose personal tragedy had transformed into a global movement for justice.
Ana Helena’s activism began in the most personal way possible. When her youngest daughter was born with Down syndrome, she experienced firsthand the discrimination and barriers faced by families with disabled children. As she told the Washington Blade, “I began a fight against discrimination against people with disabilities, especially for people with intellectual disabilities. I then began fighting for other human rights that were being violated.”
This resonated deeply with me as I crafted Sophia—a character who appears throughout my book as someone who “has been crying” and “has been so sad,” yet becomes a powerful force for transformation. Like Ana Helena, the literary Sophia’s pain becomes her strength.
From Personal Pain to Revolutionary Change
What struck me most about Ana Helena’s story was how she channeled her personal experience into systemic change. Long before entering politics, she helped create Costa Rica’s first non-governmental organization for people with Down syndrome and later established an inter-American NGO for people with disabilities.
Her approach was revolutionary: rather than focusing on limitations, she emphasized possibilities and dignity. “We are not focused on what they can’t do,” she explained about her employment practices. “What we tell the employer is what they can do—’He’s very good in public relations’—not what they can’t do. It’s a different way of seeing disability.”
This philosophy of seeing potential rather than deficits became central to how I conceived Sophia in my book—as a figure who helps others see beyond surface appearances to recognize the inherent worth and possibility in every being.
A Political Leader with Purpose
When Ana Helena served as Costa Rica’s Second Vice President from 2014-2018, her leadership style remained deeply rooted in her personal experience. In her own office, she actively employed people with disabilities, ensuring that four of her nine staff members had various disabilities, including a human rights lawyer in a wheelchair, a blind colleague, and someone with Asperger syndrome.
This commitment to walking the talk inspired how I wrote about Sophia’s interactions with both the powerful tiger and the delicate butterfly in my story. Like Ana Helena, Sophia creates space for all voices and recognizes that true strength comes from inclusion, not exclusion.
Revolutionizing How We See Poverty
Perhaps Ana Helena’s most transformative contribution—and the one that most directly influenced my writing—came through her pioneering work with multidimensional poverty measurement. As Vice President, she led Costa Rica to become the fastest country in the world to develop and implement a national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
The breakthrough was both technical and philosophical. Rather than measuring poverty solely through income, Ana Helena’s approach recognized that poverty encompasses education, health, living standards, and human dignity. Under her leadership, Costa Rica’s poverty rate decreased from 21.7% in 2014 to 18.8% in 2017.
This revolutionary way of “counting” and measuring human experience became a central theme in “The Songs of Sophia” section of my book. In the poems, Sophia uses numbers and counting not as cold statistics, but as tools of compassion—helping “the rich to see the poor” and creating understanding between different worlds.
Literary Translation of Real Impact
In my book, I wrote:
“The number Sophia counts
That paints a vivid picture
For the rich to see the poor,
That says that there is much to do
And many ways to help.”
These lines were directly inspired by Ana Helena’s work developing measurement tools that make poverty visible and actionable for policymakers worldwide. Just as the literary Sophia brings together different worlds through understanding, Ana Helena has spent her career building bridges between policy and human experience.
The themes of alliance-building that run throughout my book also reflect Ana Helena’s real-world approach. She consistently created partnerships—between government and private sector, between rich and poor, between the powerful and the marginalized. In my story, this becomes the alliance between the tiger and the butterfly, united in their care for Sophia and their commitment to protecting the vulnerable.
From Inspiration to Recognition
Ana Helena’s impact extends far beyond Costa Rica. She now serves as Senior Advisor on Public Policy and International Relations at OPHI, where she leads educational programs for high-level officials across Latin America and the Caribbean. She holds the honorary title of Inaugural MPI Ambassador, recognizing her exceptional leadership in positioning multidimensional poverty measurement as a global policy tool.
When I was writing about Sophia as a figure who “returns again and again, counting again and again for all to see progress,” I was thinking of leaders like Ana Helena who dedicate their lives to sustained, patient work for justice.
Why This Story Matters
I included Ana Helena Chacón prominently in my book’s dedication because her story embodies the kind of wisdom and compassion I wanted to capture in the character of Sophia. She shows us how personal experience, when channeled through courage and vision, can create transformative change that benefits millions.
Her journey from advocating for her daughter’s rights to revolutionizing global poverty measurement demonstrates that the most powerful changes often begin with the most personal struggles. Like Sophia in my book, Ana Helena teaches us that true wisdom comes not from avoiding pain, but from transforming it into a force for healing others.
Continuing the Mission
Five percent of the proceeds from “The Tiger Trilogy: The Songs of Sophia” go to Sophia Oxford —to support work to end Multidimensional Poverty.
For Sophia I was drawing directly from the example of Ana Helena Chacón—a real-world figure who shows us that wisdom, when combined with action, can indeed change the world.
“The Tiger Trilogy: The Songs of Sophia” is available through Rugido Mágico publishing, with illustrations by Lina Cabrera and Spanish translation by Viviane Lazard Sobral. To learn more, visit RugidoMagico.com.