Blast From The Past – Fall-Winter 1992 – In this photograph I’m standing in the doorway of a Russian Antonov AN-124 aircraft (then considered the largest cargo aircraft in Russia’s fleet), covering a humanitarian relief operation called Provide Hope. I was the photo editor for part of this operation covering operations between Italy and Russia. While much of the time I was reviewing and editing the photography shot my colleagues I was able to get out and cover some of the operations myself.
On this mission we flew on the 124 into Moscow where I spent a couple days covering food distribution to orphanages, hospitals and other locations in outlying areas.
According to Wikipedia: “Provide Hope” was a humanitarian operation conducted by the U.S. Air Force to provide medical equipment and food to former Soviet republics during their transition to capitalism.
Sixty-five C-5 and C-141 missions flew 2,363 short tons (2,144 t) of food and medical supplies to 24 locations in the Commonwealth of Independent States during the initial launch. Much of these supplies was left over from the buildup to the Persian Gulf War.
For nearly two weeks, US Air Force C-5A’s and C-141’s delivered several hundred tons of emergency food, medicines, and medical supplies to all twelve new independent states of the former Soviet Union, not only to each capital city but also to several outlying cities, especially across Russia.
Small teams of US personnel from various government agencies (On-Site Inspection Agency, USAID, and USDA) had been placed in each destination shortly before the deliveries, to coordinate with local officials and to monitor to the best extent possible that the deliveries reached the intended recipients (i.e., orphanages, hospitals, soup kitchens, and needy families).