The Goodwins were on their sixth visit to Vanuatu when Cyclone Pam devastated the nation on March 13.

They were staying at Fatumaru Lodge, about four kilometres from Port Vila when the storm hit.

“We had been warned, but were told we were in a safe area that was going to be OK,” Deb said.

But this was not the case – and a harrowing, eleven-hour ordeal followed.

“We lost power, then the winds started, then water started to blow through,” Deb said.

“We dragged the mattress into the bathroom and huddled there.

“The noise was horrendous.

“Trees were snapping like toothpicks.

“It just wiped everything out.”

Phil said he had experienced two category three storms on a cruise, but they had nothing on Pam – a category five.

“All of the elders were saying it was the biggest on record,” he said.

“We were expecting thousands of losses of life.”

“It was complete devastation wherever you looked.”

Sixteen people were killed in the cyclone, including a nephew of Deb and Phil’s bus driver, Karl.

Hollem Village, which is home to about 500 families, will take months to recover from the loss of their crops.

The Goodwins have a special connection with the village since making friends with their tour guide, Arthur, on their first visit to Vanuatu.

Arthur lives in Hollem Village with his wife Cilla and sons Matthew, three, and Jack, one – who treat the Goodwins like family.

Phil has even been welcomed as an elder in the village and the couple is recognised everywhere they go, due to Phil’s signature Akubra hat.

Despite their own homes being destroyed, Arthur and his family walked to Fatumaru Lodge the morning after the cyclone to check on the welfare of their Australian family.

“That’s the type of people they are,” Deb said.

“They are so giving, so loving and so beautiful.”

The lodge owners had also lost their own home but made the welfare of their guests their priority, even calling the consulate to make sure Deb and Phil could get a flight home.

The Goodwins arrived home the Monday after the cyclone hit.

The terrifying experience is still quite raw, but the couple have thrown themselves into a fundraising effort to help their ‘Vanuatu family’ get back on their feet.

“We’ve just got to do this for them; we can’t leave them and know they’ve got nothing,” Deb said.

The account will be looked after by the village elders, who the Goodwins say will know what their community needs.

A trivia night will be held at Cessnock Ex-Services Club on Saturday, April 11 at 7pm.

Tickets are $15 per person or $100 for a table of 10.

Tickets are available through Tara or Inga on 0403 405 962 or at Sportspower Cessnock on 4990 4091, or via the Facebook page ‘Helping Vanuatu – Trivia Night’.

Donation tins are at Sportspower, Michel’s Patisserie and iTravel Cessnock.