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From Magwi to Louisville —
A Life of Purpose

The story of Simon Ottaviano: refugee, soldier, businessman, and the man who gave everything to build a school named after his mother.

Simon Ottaviano, Founder of AYAA

Simon Ottaviano

Founder & President — AYAA South Sudanese Community Organization

Born in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan  |  Resident of Louisville, Kentucky

Languages: Acholi • Arabic • English  |  Phone: (502) 235-3913

Roots in Acholiland

Born of Chiefs, Raised on the Land of Magwi

Simon Ottaviano was born into a position of immense responsibility. His father, Ottaviano Oyat, is the Paramount Chief of the Acholi people in South Sudan — a hereditary leader in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria, the ancestral homeland of the Acholi. Acholiland spans the border between South Sudan and Uganda, and the Acholi people carry a rich tradition of governance, community, and resilience.

Growing up in Magwi, Simon learned what it meant to serve a community from his earliest years. The Paramount Chief's household was a gathering place for disputes, decisions, and the care of the people. This deep sense of duty would follow Simon across oceans and decades.

The Acholi of South Sudan speak the Acholi language (part of the Luo language family), and Simon grew up trilingual — fluent in Acholi, Arabic, and English — a linguistic bridge between his people, the broader region, and the wider world.

Students and community gathered at Ayaa Senior Secondary School, Magwi, South Sudan
Magwi County, South Sudan
Students & Community — Eastern Equatoria
Simon Ottaviano — Founder of AYAA, Army veteran, MBA
Simon Ottaviano
Army Veteran • MBA • Community Leader
The Great Journey

Fleeing War, Arriving in America — 1994

In 1994, civil war consumed South Sudan. Like so many of his generation — the "Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan" — Simon was forced to leave everything he knew: his father's compound, his language, his land. He arrived in the United States as a young man with little more than determination and the values his father had instilled in him.

America was not easy. But Simon did what the Acholi do — he persevered. He enrolled, he worked, he studied, and he earned. He became a United States citizen and chose the highest form of service available to him.

"The most important thing my father taught me was that a chief does not serve himself. He serves the people. I carried that to America."

— Simon Ottaviano, Founder
Service and Achievement

Soldier. Scholar. Builder.

Simon Ottaviano served six years in the United States Army — a testament to his commitment to the country that gave him refuge. Military service taught him discipline, leadership, and the understanding that sacrifice for others is the highest calling.

After his service, Simon channeled his ambition into education. He earned his MBA from Sullivan University in 2008, one of Kentucky's leading business schools. Armed with his degree, he built a successful professional career — 12 years at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, where he developed deep expertise in healthcare administration and community health.

He later became a licensed REALTOR at Semonin REALTORS, one of Kentucky's most respected real estate firms — bringing his business acumen to help Louisville families find homes, even as he quietly planned to build something far more important back in Magwi.

Simon settled in Louisville, Kentucky — a city with one of America's most significant South Sudanese diaspora communities. He became a pillar of that community, a connector between the old world and the new, between those who came before and those who arrived after.

Simon's Journey — A Timeline

Born in Magwi
Son of a Paramount Chief
Born in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria, to Ottaviano Oyat — Paramount Chief of the Acholi in South Sudan.
1994
Arrives in the United States
Flees civil war in Sudan. Arrives in America carrying nothing but determination and his father's values.
6 Years
U.S. Army Service
Serves six years in the United States Army. Earns citizenship and a lifelong commitment to service.
2008
MBA — Sullivan University
Earns his Master of Business Administration from Sullivan University, Louisville.
12 Years
Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield
Builds a career in healthcare administration — 12 years of professional excellence in Louisville.
2022
Builds Ayaa Senior Secondary School
Sells his house and cashes out his 401(k) to fund construction. The school opens with 200+ students.
2023
AYAA Receives 501(c)(3) Status
AYAA South Sudanese Community Organization becomes a federally recognized tax-exempt nonprofit. EIN: 88-3720394.
The Sacrifice

He Sold His House to Build a School

The story of Ayaa Senior Secondary School is not a story of donors and grant applications. It is a story of one man's extraordinary personal sacrifice for his people.

In 2022, Simon Ottaviano made a decision that few would be willing to make: he sold his home in Louisville and cashed out his 401(k) retirement savings — the sum total of decades of American work and sacrifice — to fund the construction of a secondary school in Magwi Center.

He named it Ayaa Senior Secondary School, after his mother.

"I had to do it," Simon has said. "The children of Magwi have no future without education. I had the means — maybe just barely — and I had to use it. My mother's name will be there for the children forever."

Named for His Mother — Ayaa

The school's name — "Ayaa" — is the name of Simon's mother. In Acholi tradition, honoring one's mother is among the highest expressions of love and respect. Every student who walks through those doors carries her name with them.

Students studying at Ayaa Senior Secondary School
Named for His Mother
Ayaa Senior Secondary School

200+ students. Opened 2022. Magwi Center, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan.

Partnerships

WaterStep: Bringing Safe Water to Magwi

Access to clean water is not just a health issue — it is an educational issue. For decades, the people of Magwi have drawn water from the River Ayii, unaware of the invisible danger it carried: bilharzia (schistosomiasis), a parasitic disease that causes chronic illness, stunts development in children, and quietly robs communities of their potential.

AYAA has partnered with WaterStep — a Louisville, Kentucky nonprofit that deploys water purification technology to communities in need worldwide — to bring a clean water system to Ayaa Senior Secondary School and the village of Magwi.

This partnership represents something beautiful: two Louisville organizations, one rooted in the American Midwest and one rooted in the Acholi homeland, working together to give the children of South Sudan something every child deserves — the ability to drink a glass of water without fear.

Learn About Our Programs
About Bilharzia (Schistosomiasis)

Bilharzia is a parasitic disease caused by contact with freshwater contaminated with certain snail species. Common in sub-Saharan Africa, it causes chronic illness, anemia, and long-term organ damage. Children are especially vulnerable. The River Ayii in Magwi was historically a source of infection for the community.

What Clean Water Changes

Safe water access reduces school absenteeism, improves child nutrition, frees women and girls from hours of water-fetching duty, and fundamentally shifts community health outcomes within a single generation.

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Simon's Story — In His Own Words

WaterStep, AYAA's Louisville partner, sat down with Simon Ottaviano to document his remarkable journey from Magwi to Louisville and back again.

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WaterStep × Simon Ottaviano
Facebook Video — via WaterStep Louisville

"South Sudanese Man Endured War to Bring Hope Home" — WaterStep sat down with Simon to tell the story of how a man who fled civil war in 1994 returned decades later to build a school named after his mother.

Watch on Facebook →
Follow Simon on Facebook

Get updates on the school, the dormitory campaign, and community news directly from Simon.

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The Organization

AYAA by the Numbers

501(c)(3) Status

AYAA South Sudanese Community Organization is a federally recognized tax-exempt nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.

EIN: 88-3720394

Louisville, Kentucky

Based at 6907 Hollow Creek Court, Louisville, KY 40228 — in the heart of one of America's most vibrant South Sudanese diaspora communities.

Two Continents, One Mission

AYAA serves South Sudanese communities on both sides of the Atlantic — supporting the diaspora in Louisville while investing directly in the people of Magwi, South Sudan.

Join the Mission

Stand With Simon.
Stand With Magwi.

One man sacrificed everything he had to build a school. Now we need a community to help finish the job. Donate, volunteer, or spread the word.

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