About ACES
At ACES (Action for Community Empowerment in Syria), our training programs and campaign initiatives improve mental health and psychosocial support in northern Syria, particularly for communities affected by conflict, displacement, and oppression. Our focus extends to preventing domestic violence and child abuse and promoting peacebuilding, positive parenting, quality education, and gender equality.
Our Mission
Who We Are
ACES’ co-founder, Shiler Sido, is Executive Manager and Coordinator of all projects in northern Syria. She heads ACES’ team of local experts and serves as translator, interpreter, and facilitator of all training workshops.
Professor Bonnie Miller, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is ACES’ co-founder, international trainer, and mental health program coordinator. She develops all mental health materials, and via Zoom from Washington DC, leads local in-person workshops and online training.
ACES has an energetic and highly effective, small local team who understand the issues, speak the languages, and are responsive to the needs of beneficiaries.
Background
Since the onset of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the region has endured immense challenges—massacres by ISIS, Turkish invasions and ongoing shelling, and the devastating earthquake in February 2023. These events have severely disrupted access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and mental health support. Thousands of people remain displaced, living in tent camps with limited resources and uncertain futures, as the region continues to face crises on multiple fronts.
ACES works only in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which is not part of the al Assad-administered Syrian Arab Republic.
Our Goals
Provide mental health and psychosocial support training for vulnerable populations.
Prevent domestic violence and child abuse and support gender-based violence (GBV) survivors.
Build capacity in local communities through training healthcare professionals, educators, and community leaders.
Implement child protection programs and educational initiatives that promote positive mental health and resilience.
Involve local government agencies in developing policies and legislation that promote mental health and protect women and children from all forms of abuse.
Who We Serve
ACES serves diverse ethnicities across northern Syria, including Kurds, Arabs, Yezidis, Syriacs, Armenians, and others.
Our target groups include:
Healthcare professionals
Educators
NGOs and government agencies
Women’s groups
Community and religious leaders
People working with special needs children and adults
Our Programs
Empowering Communities through Mental Health Support and Abuse Prevention
ACES has successfully facilitated dozens of mental health workshops, both online and in-person, reaching thousands of participants across northern Syria. Our programs cover a wide range of topics, including stress management, trauma healing, and mental health support for special needs populations. In addition, we lead comprehensive community and internally displaced persons (IDP) camp campaigns to prevent child abuse and gender-based violence. These initiatives bring together community leaders, lawyers, NGOs, educators, local government officials, religious leaders, and healthcare professionals, creating a collaborative effort to build safer, more resilient communities.
Our most recent project, the first of its kind in northern Syria, is training 100 teachers who will serve as facilitators to reach all 3,000 educators in the Deir Ezzor region.
Our Impact
ACES’ programs have reached thousands of beneficiaries. We support vulnerable populations in northern Syria by:
· Building capacity of local communities by mobilizing collaborative relationships of civil society organizations to formulate solutions to pressing social problems.
· Encouraging social harmony in multiethnic populations of vulnerable minorities (Kurds, Armenians, Yezidis, Syriacs) as well as Arabs.
· Healing trauma and improving psychosocial well-being.
· Preventing child maltreatment by raising awareness, supporting families, and teaching positive parenting skills.
· Training educators in modern teaching methods for improved academic achievement and socioemotional growth in students.
· Strengthening resilience in adolescents and young adults by helping them develop coping skills to deal with stress and adversity.
· Empowering women leaders.
· Launching initiatives to prevent gender-based violence and help survivors.
· Advocating for the rights of women, children, minorities, and people with disabilities.
· Achieving maximum impact with a high percentage of donations spent on program (and low overhead for administrative expenses).
Feedback from healthcare professionals in Northwest Syria:
“Getting into the medical field is difficult, but it becomes extra difficult after experiencing a war and genocide against our people. We deal with around 300,000 unwell displaced persons who suffer from physical and psychological illnesses on a daily basis. Both in terms of staffing and obtaining pharmaceuticals, our capacity as physicians and nurses is constrained.
Mrs. Bonnie Miller delivered programmed sessions that were like a torch in our gloomy existence. We used to conduct our work in a traditional manner, believing that we were doing it correctly, but these seminars marked a watershed moment in our lives. They altered our perceptions on how to better assist our patients, manage stress, aid ourselves and others, and prevent burnout. We feel more confident in our ability to be more effective and helpful in our community after the workshops. The workshops most crucially supplied us with solutions to our growing challenges.”
Feedback from teachers in Northwest Syria:
“No one can comprehend what it means to have hope after a lengthy period of hopelessness. No one can comprehend what it means to lose one's sense of self but then to rediscover one's zest for life. Only those who have been through the most harrowing combat experiences may comprehend what those emotions imply. The sessions demonstrate the power of healing, both mental and spiritual healing.
ACES’ ground-breaking workshops gave educators a comprehensive look into the student-teacher relationship, allowing them to build the finest ways for assisting students and detecting the concerns and problems that might harm students and teachers.
Participants believe that the sessions have enriched their lives and souls, and they have realized the importance of working harder, serving the community, particularly students, planting hope, knowledge, and confidence, but most importantly, restoring a smile to children's faces.”
Deir Ezzor Teacher Training Project Phase I
In November and December of 2024, ACES’ lead trainer, Professor Bonnie Miller, presented twelve 2.5 hour online sessions with interactive discussions for primary and secondary school teachers in Deir Ezzor, a region of Northeast Syria impacted by war and attacks by ISIS. The training for 100 teachers was very relevant to their needs and highly successful, as evidenced by their testimonials:
Thank you for this initiative aimed at empowering educators despite the challenges. This project is valuable for both teachers and students. The session covered resilience, emotional regulation, self-efficacy, and conflict resolution, all of which are vital for fostering positive development in children.
Regarding today's session, it was indeed of utmost importance. We face many problems at school but didn’t know how to deal with them or lacked solutions. Personally, I found solutions for many issues, whether at school or with my children at home.
The session was constructive, covering key topics like classroom management, fostering respect and cooperation, and tackling bullying in schools. The proposed solutions were practical and essential for enhancing teacher-student interactions.
The lecture was more than excellent and incredibly beneficial. I honestly needed such a lecture as it provided rich and valuable information…ACES’ sessions are comprehensive and inclusive, allowing the colleagues to share their opinions.
The session was truly rich with valuable and beneficial information for teachers, including strategies for classroom management and addressing each child’s behavior individually. I chose to listen attentively as the session was diverse and enriching. Through the professor’s explanations, all our queries were answered.
The session was highly informative and addressed issues relevant to all ages, not just teachers. Even as parents, my group and I found the topics discussed by the professor so captivating that we encouraged everyone to listen. This highlights the value of such sessions, not only in the educational field but in life overall.
Great effort, everyone. A valuable lecture with important topics on domestic and social violence against children. Real stories of violence experienced by children were shared. Honestly, we benefited greatly from the issues discussed.
God bless you for the valuable insights.
Deir Ezzor Teacher Training Project Phase II
Spring 2025
Phase II of the Deir Ezzor teacher training project has impacted both the 50 facilitators and their 3,000 trainees. These teachers will support 100,000 students in the 2025-26 academic year and beyond, transforming education in the Deir Ezzor region.
Trainers' Opinions on the Training:
“The training was like a window of hope, as we realized the true need for such sensitive topics in our educational environment. Everything we learned will positively impact the future of children and contribute to creating a safer school environment. We are grateful to Prof. Bonnie Miller and I am lucky to be trained by her.”
“Our joy with this training is indescribable; it has completely changed my perspective on education. The information provided by Professor Bonnie Miller was deep and inspiring, and I feel proud to now share it with teachers and parents.”
“Despite the challenges of training during the month of Ramadan, the passion of the trainees and their desire for knowledge made us forget the fatigue. What we learned during these weeks will stay with us throughout our professional lives. It is a life changing experience given to us by ACES and Prof. Bonnie Miller.”
“The training was not just about educational sessions; it was an experience that changed our concepts and methods of dealing with students. I have become more confident in myself and now possess the tools I was missing.”
Trainees' Opinions About the Training:
“I used to think that dealing with children was a straightforward matter, but after this training, I realized how sensitive it is. I was unaware of how listening to children affects their behavior and self-confidence. Now, I allocate time within the lesson to listen to my students.”
“I never imagined that there were people who care about us as teachers to this extent. This type of training should continue because we always need it. Every teacher deserves to learn these skills.”
“I have participated in many training courses, but this training was different. The topics covered were profound and touched on our real-life situations, especially regarding bullying and child sexual abuse. Professor Bonnie Miller deserves all the appreciation, as she changed the way we think.”
“The ideas we received here have the potential to change the reality of education in Deir Ezzor.”
Our future goals include expanding our child protection programs and continuing our domestic violence prevention initiatives. For spring 2025, our 50 trained facilitators are training 3,000 teachers on topics such as interactive teaching methods, increasing resilience in children, social and emotional learning, and parent-teacher collaboration in the most underserved region of Deir Ezzor.
Looking Ahead
