After two summer camps, youths in Holland and AntFarm develop partnership, bringing the Dutch group to Mount Hood

A year ago, young men from Holland gathered around a fire and vowed to visit America together.

Through their second summer camp led by their mentors and a man from Mount Hood, the young men bonded like brothers.

Tom Smeehuijzen, 17, had predicted the Native American man coming from Oregon to lead his camp would wear a headdress and gear his activities to an 8-year-old.

On the contrary, Smeehuijzen found himself able to open up with his leader and fellow campers at a level he never imagined. There was wilderness education, storytelling, outdoor activities, songs and deep conversations around the fire.

Participants and leaders alike found themselves transformed.

“Each of these young men are incredibly special,” says Nunpa, executive director of AntFarm and leader of the camp. “They’re taking risks. With their autism, especially, I was so touched with each young man’s deep thoughts and feelings.”

For three weeks, AntFarm, Sandy’s youth development center, is hosting six of the young men from Holland whom Nunpa had met the past two years, along with their two adult chaperones, Marina van Alten and Sabine Meywaard.

The partnership began in 2010 when a mutual connection recommended that van Alten, an educator, work with Nunpa on a camp for youths with autism in Holland.

“They’re fighting to fit into a system,” van Alten says of the schools the young men attend. “That’s not a way to grow up. These relationships (they’ve made with each other through camp) are real, and they’re going to last forever. It helps them see the positive parts of themselves and have authentic contact.”

The 2010 Camp Redwind, with 10 boys and two girls, was a smashing success and spurred a 2011 camp in Germany, which was all boys.

Next, the young men wanted to come to America.

“It’s like what you see in National Geographic,” Elias Jonk, 16, says of Mount Hood. His friends agree, all reveling in the wilderness.

The group has set up camp on Nunpa’s property in Brightwood and had already taken a hike around Mirror Lake two days into the visit.

“It wouldn’t be camp without Nunpa,” says Koen ter Meulen, 16. “It’s good to remember you’re worth it. Sometimes I’m insecure because of puberty and autism. Because of these camps, I’m reminded I actually matter. I learned not to put myself down.”

ter Meulen represents AntFarm in Holland with a baseball cap from Nunpa that bears the nonprofit group’s logo. Traveling to America was ter Meulen’s first flight, and it’s clear the experience already has made a huge impact on him.

Over the three weeks, the students and chaperones will see Sauvie Island, Goldendale, Wash., and more of the Mount Hood National Forest.

They’ll have a presence in Sandy, helping in the community garden and culminating their stay with a First Friday party at AntFarm on Aug. 3.

They’re reminded each day of the tremendous effort it took to come to Oregon; the young men determined that all of them or none of them would visit.

With the assistance of their parents, grandparents, van Alten and Meywaard, the students got jobs, saved money and found a sponsorship from a publishing company, Uitgeverij Pic, which publishes books related to autism.

The other travelers include Sebastiaan Linde, 18, Rogier Woudstra, 17, and Luuk Meywaard, 17. And Nunpa is helped not only by the Dutch chaperones but by Damon Schwab, also of AntFarm.

One of the men took on a full-time job as soon as he graduated high school and worked enough to save 600 euros in four weeks.

Many of the young men recently graduated high school and are contemplating what comes next. Through camp, they’re seeing more and more possibilities.

“They say autism creates difficulties in building relationships, but I think these guys prove them wrong,” Nunpa says.

A year after making their pact, the young men are gathered again around a fire — this time in Mount Hood, a dream realized.

To celebrate its international visitors, AntFarm will hold a special First Friday party from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, at 39140 Proctor Blvd., Sandy.

For more information, call 503-622-3548 or visit antfarm-international.com.