A Howell man credited for “quiet heroism” in helping evacuate and resettle refugees after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August 2021 was honored with a Congressional tribute submitted by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin. The tribute was read at Monday’s Howell City Council meeting by Mona Shand, Slotkin’s Livingston County field representative and district press secretary.
Christopher Pumford, a 2013 graduate of Hartland High School, is credited with sustaining the lives of 18 families, and registering more than 100 families for evacuation consideration with the U.S. Department of State.
After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on Aug. 15, 2021, Pumford was one of the “very best among us” who “stepped up to find ways to protect the allies that had once protected our own,” Shand read from the tribute. Since then, Pumford has been a lead volunteer responsible for dispersing funds to Afghans in hiding to cover the cost of safe houses; he also tracks and manages reimbursement for food drops.
“In less than one year’s time, Mr. Pumford has devoted more than 800 hours of service to assisting these families with the enormous challenges of food, shelter, and security, and has done everything in his power to prepare them for a better future.”
Pumford’s parents, Lawrence and Lorena Pumford, and his grandmother were at the meeting in person for the reading of the tribute, while Pumford joined the proceeding via FaceTime. Pumford, who is currently living in Morocco, was able to join the proceeding via FaceTime.
A 2013 Hartland High School graduate, Pumford works for the Washington, D.C., based Middle East Institute, which is dedicated exclusively to the study of the Middle East; he is currently on a Fulbright grant at the Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan-II in Rabat, Morocco, where he is a lecturer in the Applied Linguistics and Animal Productions Departments.
Pumford has bachelor’s degrees from the University of Michigan and Brigham Young University, as well as a master’s degree in law and diplomacy at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
You can read the Congressional tribute below:
Pumford Congressional Record
