Located in the south-west of , lies under division, and has an area of 2,607 square kilometres. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna district and to the south, Magura and Narail to the east, and district to the north. Major rivers that flow through this region are the Bhairab,

Chitra, Betna, Kobadak, and Photo credit: BRAC the Mukteshwari. Jessore Popular Theatre group in Keshabpur, Jessore. is famous for its flower production and widely known from marginalised families and Jessore is the birthplace of famous provides basic education through poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta. as the capital city of flower in its informal schools. HRLS serves His large and beautiful villa located Bangladesh. the disadvantaged community at Shaagordaari, set by the river through its human rights and Kopotak-kho, is a popular tourist legal education (HRLE) shebikas. spot. BRAC operates in Jessore CEP is building and strengthening with components such as the community institutions to ensure microfinance, health, nutrition and socio-political empowerment of population (HNPP), education poor people. WASH encourages General information (BEP), community empowerment people to drink pure water and use (CEP), human rights and legal hygienic sanitary latrines. Migration Population 2,764,547 aid services (HRLS), water, works on ensuring easy access to Unions 91 sanitation and hygiene (WASH), services for Bangladeshi migrants Villages 1,419 migration, and skills development to avoid exploitation. BRAC’s new Children (0-15) 334,308 programmes. Among them, initiative, the skills development microfinance offers three types programme, is providing holistic skills Primary schools 1,285 of loans – dabi (microloan), development training and decent Literacy rates 57% progoti (enterprise loan) and employment opportunities to enable Hospitals 10 tenant farmers’ development loan young women and men to realise Banks 154 (agricultural loans). HNPP provides their full potential. A BRAC learning Bazaars 297 health education through health centre (BLC) was also established NGOs 267 volunteers (shasthya shebika) in Jessore. The BLC is a residential and health workers (shasthya centre used as a training centre for kormi). BEP identifies children BRAC employees.

www.brac.net At a glance Water, sanitation and hygiene (as of December 2015) Committee members 31,885 Microfinance Sanitation coverage 87% Loans for sanitary latrines 8,240 Branches 31 Deep tubewell installed 500 Village organisations 1,959 Sanitary latrines installed Members 184,599 in schools 317 Borrowers 51,487 Progoti Skills development Small enterprise clients 15,725 Numbe of master craft Tenant farmers’ development personns (MCPs) 134 project Number of trades 9 Village organisations 1,474 Number of graduate Population covered 109,790 students 413 Amount of money disbursed 668,984,000 Migration Health, nutrition Number of safe migration and population facilitation centre (SMFC) 1 Number of community based Health volunteers organisation (CBO) facilitators 4 (shasthya shebika) 1,413 Communication workers 4 Health workers Volunteers 52 (shasthya kormi) 104 Human rights and Community empowerment legal aid services Community-based organisation Human rights and legal (polli shomaj) 288 education (HRLE) shebikas 447 Union-based organisation HRLE graduates 98,251 (union shomaj) 19 Legal aid clinics 12 Popular theatre team 12 Social enterprises Education Ayesha Abed Foundation 1 Pre-primary schools 156 Primary schools 114 ADP Centres 169 Community libraries 98

Although every effort has been made to include and verify the accuracy of relevant information in this fact sheet, users are urged to check independently on matters of specific interest. Report any discrepancies/suggestions to [email protected]. This document was last updated on 31 December 2015, is revised yearly and made available on www.brac.net/visitors.