PHOTOS: Bamyan Humanitarian Aid

By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon

The 82nd Combat Aviation today distributed hundreds of pounds of rice donated through Feed My Starving Children, U.S. non-profit organization, to villagers near Bamyan, Afghanistan.

Bamyan, the site of giant Buddhas carved in the 5th century and later destroyed by the Taliban, is one of the poorest but safest provinces in Afghanistan.

The mission was the fourth of its kind to aid villagers near the ancient city.

So far, the 82nd CAB has delivered donated blankets, winter jackets, and shoes.

BAMYAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Spc. Micah Moten, an 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade Black Hawk crew chief, distributes boxes of rice to villagers in Bamyan, Afghanistan. Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Task Force Poseidon Public Affairs

BAMYAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Capt. Ashley Towns, of Charlotte, N.C., distributes pens to an eager crowd of children in Bamyan, Afghanistan, Apr. 7. Pens and school supplies are highly prized in the town, because they're required to attend the local university. Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Task Force Poseidon Public Affairs

BAMYAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Two young Afghan girls wait as their family receives food donations near Bamyan, Afghanistan.(Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Task Force Poseidon Public Affairs)

BAMYAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - A large group of women and children surround village elders and Afghan National Police officers waiting to receive humanitarian aid donated by Feed My Starving Children, a U.S. non-profit aid organization, and distributed by the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade in Bamyan, Afghanistan. Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Task Force Poseidon Public Affairs

BAMYAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Capt. Isaac Watson, of Boone, N.C., hands a 35-pound box of rice to an Afghan man in Bamyan, Afghanistan. Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Task Force Poseidon Public Affairs