Where We Work

Juri is one of the 8 sub districts (called Upazila in Bengali) of Moulavibazar district in the Sylhet Division (Juri City Population). It is very close to the Indian border, with the Indian district of Tripura close by. Land area is 231 km. Not too far is the River Juri on the east and on the west in the neighbouring sub district which has the Hakaluki Haor.  This is one of the largest marsh wetland resources in Asia and an ecologically protected area. The growing of leaves for tea is an important local business and the breathtaking green slopes of the tea gardens are all around.

The population of Juri is 168,423 (based on national census in 2001). The majority are Muslims though there are very many Hindus and a small number of Buddhists and Christians..

Education is important for many of the people of Juri and the Juri High School was originally established in the 1930s  Juri has 5 libraries, 2 colleges for undergraduate studies, 12 high schools and quite a few Islamic religious schools (madrasahs) and primary schools. Many of these are run by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee or BRAC, the largest Bangladeshi and one of the largest non government development organisations in the world. Average literacy rate is about 40%, with literacy among women 35.5% and 44% among men.

Most of the people in Juri work in agriculture with the main exports being rice and tea. Only 15% of the population have electricity and more than 66% have to collect fresh water from public or private hand pumps. For health care, Juri does not have any government hospitals and the over 150,000 population depend on Brahmonbazar Christian Hospital (approx. 10km away), six small local health and family planning centres and twenty community clinics.

Juri Sub District Map