Mattru is the capital of the Jong Chiefdom. It is accessible both by road and water from Freetown the capital city of Sierra Leone. It is less than sixty nautical miles from Bonthe, the largest town in Sherbro Island. Mattru can boast of a lot of amenities, from one of the best hospitals in Sierra Leone to very good elementary and high schools although all need rehabilitation and repopulation due to the eleven years of war. The Chiefdom has potential for economic growth.The Gambian Oil Palm project has for many years played a major role in providing employment to the citizen of Jong Chiefdom and beyond. It may continue doing so again after rehabilitation. It will be a great privilege for this community to get all the help they could to provide for their citizens.
This is where the Mattru Jong Project comes in. 21st Century African Youth Movement, through its Community Projects International, will provide supplementary educational programs by developing Moselleh, a touristic attraction in Mattru Jong to an institution capable of bringing together people and resources to achieve the goals we have set to accomplish.
The name Mattru is a Europeanized version of Mo-Tewoo (Home of the Buffalos). Present day Mattru Jong lies on the banks of the Jong River, also called the Te-li-yeh (pronounced The-yeh). This river runs through the town of Taima in the Moyamba District. The town Taima (pronounced Ta-yah-ma) got its name from this river. On the other bank of the river in Mattru, almost across the Centennial Secondary School campus, is a hamlet called Senehun. This hamlet was the only occupied territory for miles around. The present day Mattru was nothing but grassland with roaming buffalos.
As legend goes, a hunter from Senehun crossed the river into this grassland in search of a game to kill for his family. He spent the whole day looking with no success. Towards the evening, his luck came up. He saw a large buffalo, took aim and shot it. The animal was too big for him to carry across the river in his small dugout canoe. So he carved a piece out of the body and took it home to Senehun for the day’s meal. The next morning he brought his family over to see the kill. The family stayed and feasted on the meat for days.
The news of this kill spread in Senehun like wild fire. Other hunters decided to make this grassland their hunting ground. These hunters were not disappointed, because every time they came across the river, they will not return empty handed. Some of the kills were too big to take back to Senehun. So they started putting up huts for their families.
The news about the abundance of Buffalos in this grassland took a life of its own. So when a hunter who was seen preparing his gears for a hunt was asked where he was going, would reply, ‘I am going to Mo-Tewoo,’ the Place of the Buffalos, or simply, the Home of the Buffalos.
Our Goals:
- To promote the creation of new jobs;
- To help improve the local industry and business climate;
- To involve the Chiefdom people in the development initiative of the MJP;
- To create agricultural projects for local food production and consumption;
- To preserve and improve on landmarks in the Jong Chiefdom;
- To provide supplementary educational programs from ages 3 through adult;
- To develop and expand creative recreational projects in the Jong Chiefdom;
- To develop and promote effective youth participation in the affairs of Jong Chiefdom;
- To position Mattru Jong as the preeminent Chiefdom for art and culture in Sierra Leone