My book The Tiger Trilogy: The Songs of Sophia weaves together the ancient symbol of Wisdom (Sophia) with a Tiger who channels her guidance through mighty strength.
Brazilian journalist Marisa Adán Gil beautifully captured the essence of the book: I “manage to create an enchanting story for kids, then mix it with history, philosophy and a little romance.”
This is the first in a series about the inspiring people behind the book …
Meet the Real Sophia: Professor Sabina Alkire
Here is the real philosophy and real history. The story draws inspiration from Professor Sabina Alkire, an American academic and Anglican priest who directs the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford .
In my view Sabina asked herself a profound question: “How can I have the greatest impact on poverty reduction?”
Her answer was revolutionary. She recognized that governments rely on dashboards from national statistics offices to guide policy—but these dashboards were missing a crucial dial. They measured money, but not the full reality of poverty.
The Alkire-Foster Method: Measuring What Matters
Working with Professor James Foster of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, Sabina created the Alkire-Foster method—a groundbreaking approach to measuring multidimensional poverty. Instead of just counting dollars, it captures the complete picture of what life looks like for the world’s poorest households.
The Songs explains shows the Alkire-Foster method counts objective reality, asking questions like these:
- Do you find walls in front of you * Or are you living outside?
- When you kneel and touch your floor, * Do you touch dirt, concrete, planks or carpet
- What food are you preparing? * Do you have enough for the day?
- For the week? For your family? * Careful! Don’t burn your hands,
- Are you cooking with dung? * Or wood or fuel of another kind?
- You eat a palmful, * Are you still hungry?
- Checking your child’s head for fever. * How far is the hospital?
- In your pocket you feel for your money. * Can you pay the bill?
- How much schooling do you have? * Does your work speak of learning?
- Can you fumble around to find some tools. * Do you have any for earning?
- Thirsty, feeling for a tap, * Do you have running water?
- Is it safe to drink? * Or you are reaching for your kettle?
- Do you boil the hottest tea * Your mouth can bear?
- You need to go so bad. Do you have a latrine? Or do you go outside? * Or pay to go to the village loo?
- Outside you stumble on something * A piece of rubbish, Rubbish that is never collected * And is strewn everywhere.
In The Songs of Sophia, this wisdom translates into counting three essential things: heartbeats, money, and Sophia’s measure (the calculation of poverty that needs reduction). We need all three to solve real problems. In the Song it says “With these three numbers * We grow in compassion, Together counting * What truly matters.”
Global Impact
Today, nearly 50 countries use official multidimensional poverty measures to improve policies and target resources more effectively. Sabina’s work guides work at the:
- The United Nations Development Programme
- The World Bank
- Many countries like China, India, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, and South Africa
- Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index
Explore her transformative work at ophi.org.uk.
Bringing Sophia’s Philosophy to Life
I have the privilege of leading Wise Responder, an Oxford-created company that brings multidimensional poverty methodology to the private sector. It’s an honour to put Sabina’s—or Sophia’s—philosophy into action.
The Tiger Trilogy – The Songs of Sophia captures this philosophy in stories that enchant children while planting seeds of wisdom about making the world better.
📚 Available now in bilingual editions (English-Spanish and English-Portuguese) at https://rugidomagico.com/
I’d love to hear what children think of the story—please share their reactions!
Jamie Coats
Five percent of the proceeds of the book go to Sophia Oxford UK to support Sabina’s work.
Next post: Another inspiring figure behind The Songs of Sophia and The Tiger Trilogy