Eastern Iowa men’s global Flight to End Polio is back on track

Pilots Peter Teahen of Robins and John Ockenfels of Shueyville aren’t merely flying around the world to raise funds for Rotary International’s efforts to end polio. They’ve stepped into the front lines of the battle’s epicenter, administering vaccines to children in and around Karachi, Pakistan this week.

“I think I was fairly well-versed and informed on polio eradication over the years, and I had a clue what was going on,” Ockenfels told The Gazette by phone Wednesday. “But what I really saw today opened my eyes even much more than what I knew before, so this is a valuable stop.

“This is without a doubt — and we’ve had some great stops — but from the meaningfulness of the trip, this is the one that's really lit the candle for me,” he said.

“This started to be a trip around the world,” Teahen added. “And then it started to be a fundraiser around the world. And for myself … this trip has become more of a spiritual journey. It was captured in the experience of watching a child open his mouth or her mouth, and by putting two drops in there, knowing that you prevented this child from getting polio, when polio is so present with the children around here.

“And it’s all because people donated to the Flight to End Polio that we’re even here,” Teahen said.

Small world connections between Cedar Rapids, Pakistan

In a “small world” moment, one of the first people they met from various Pakistani aid organizations was Nofil Naqvi, media and communications officer for UNICEF in Karachi.

“The first thing out of his mouth, he said, ‘Hi, welcome. I attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids,’ ” said Teahen, who also went to Coe, as did Ockenfels’ wife. Naqvi studied there in 1996, Teahen noted.

Now one month into their three-month flight circumnavigating the globe, Teahen and Ockenfels are astonished to discover the eyes of the world are on them. They’ve been surprised to hear from people far and wide who are following their progress via the FlightAware link on their website, flighttoendpolio.com/.

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A flight around the world to end polio

“I really didn't think people would do that, but they are,” Teahen said. “It’s amazing the comments we get.”

And they’re being “treated like rock stars” at all of their stops, but especially in Pakistan, one of two remaining hot spots for polio. The other is Afghanistan, where the pilots aren’t allowed to venture, but where Rotary International is working to eradicate the crippling disease.

“They're so exhausted in the fight,” Teahen said of the Pakistanis, “but they're not going to give it up, and they just feel blessed by what John and I are representing. It’s not just John and Peter — we're representing all the people we're meeting around the world raising money to let them know that they're not alone in this fight.

“And together, we're no longer hoping. We believe that as a world together, we're going to put an end to this polio virus, and children will be safe once and for all.”

“I didn't really have a clue how big of a deal it was for two over-the-hill guys from the United States to show up in Karachi, Pakistan,” said Ockenfels, who turned 71 in Iceland on May 19, celebrating with a toast. Teahen will turn 70 on June 17 in India, where Ockenfels teased that he’s heard birthdays are celebrated in a big way.

Early mechanical issues resulted in missed events

The two Flying Rotarians — whose wives are cousins — have weathered their fair share of turbulence in their quest to not only join the ranks of the 700 pilots who have circled the globe in a single-engine airplane since aviation began. But more importantly, to aid in Rotary International’s quest to end polio through vaccinations and water purification programs.

The pilots spoke to The Gazette from Pakistan on Tuesday, as well, describing the emotional roller coaster they’ve been on since experiencing mechanical issues in New Hampshire, that stalled their flight for a week. Bad weather in Canada grounded them for another week.

As a result, they had to alter their flight plan and miss several in-person fundraising receptions in Europe. They were able to connect virtually to events in Denmark and Portugal, and other events went on as scheduled, even without the guests of honor.

The pilots had to push onward, “because we couldn't back up,” Ockenfels said. “There was no way to catch up, because the sessions were already happening. They were all preplanned. These were some pretty elaborate events in a couple of places, so they're having them whether we were there or not.”

With a 2:1 match through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Teahen and Ockenfels already had reached their initial goal of raising $1 million dollars by the time they left Cedar Rapids on May 5. More money has been raised during the first month of the trek, but the numbers haven’t been finalized yet, the pilots said.

According their May 30 newsletter, an event in Cascais, Portugal, which involved 45 Rotary and Rotaract clubs and was time stamped May 22 on Facebook, raised more than $77,000, in addition to another fundraiser in Portugal in December.

The pilots are paying all the bills associated with the flight, augmented by some corporate grants and equipment donations, so all funds raised will go directly to the Rotary Foundation's Polio Plus Program, outlined at flighttoendpolio.com/end-polio.

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Pilots reflect on unexpected delights

The flight has been back on track since landing in the Netherlands May 23, Teahen noted. And while they haven’t been able to do all the sightseeing they had planned, including a much-anticipated trip to Normandy for Ockenfels’ birthday, they’ve had many unexpected pleasures along the way.

“We’ve gotten to see some interesting territory we would have never seen before, such as Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Iceland,” Ockenfels said.

While waiting for the weather to clear up in Iceland, they had time to rent a car and explore. One of their favorite spots was the huge Sky Lagoon hot water spa. “It was very strange to be standing in hot water while I was getting hit with ice,” Ockenfels wrote in their May 30 newsletter.

They also enjoyed seeing the waterfalls in Iceland; riding the rides at the Europa-Park theme park in Lahr, Germany; and driving around Abu Dhabi, where they visited the opulent Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center.

But the most impressive sight was in the middle of nowhere.

“I'm just mind-boggled by the desert,” Teahen said.

“We did six hours flying over Saudi Arabia and it’s all desert,” Ockenfels said, adding that if they should need to make an emergency landing, he’d rather land in the ocean than in the desert, where the temperature rose to 120 to 130 degrees.

"It was, as far as you can see, with sand and nobody else,“ Teahen said. " … It was intense. As beautiful as the green was and the ocean was … the beauty and the intimidation of the desert — it is stark beauty.”

The mountains leaving Abu Dhabi caught Ockenfels’ attention.

“Just before we got to the ocean, we were at 11,000 feet and planned to climb to 12,000 to get over those ridges,” he said, “and at 12,000 feet, the top of that ridge was not very far below us. I skirted that one.” Which made for “some pretty good photographs.”

On Friday, they’ll leave for a whirlwind trip through India, then land June 18 in Sri Lanka, before heading on to Thailand and points east. The concluding goal remains the same as the starting goal — to return safely to their wives in Cedar Rapids on July 30.

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com