Two Winnipeggers plan to take some time to rest after returning from the shambles of Haiti.

Lucien Desmarais and Elaine St-Hilaire were welcomed back to Winnipeg from Haiti by friends and family members on Monday evening. (CBC)Friends embraced Lucien Desmarais and Elaine St-Hilaire as they stepped off the escalator at Winnipeg's James Richardson International Airport Monday night.

The couple had been volunteering at an orphanage in the northern part of the Caribbean country when the ground shook last week.

A 7.0-magnitude quake struck Haiti Jan. 12, leaving the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, in ruins.

After the quake, Desmarais and St-Hilaire drove from the city of Cap-Haitien, which was spared much of the damage, to Port-au-Prince in order to get back to Canada.

The journey back home took a total of four days. They first traveled by Jeep through the countryside, then flew by Hercules plane back to Montreal before finally arriving in Winnipeg.

A doctor from the Chinese emergency rescue team, left, treats an injured child in Port-au-Prince. (Associated Press/Xinhua)During the drive, they saw things St-Hilaire had trouble putting into words.

"Unless you're there in it, feeling it and seeing, seeing the people and actually smelling the disaster, it's really, really hard," she said.

The couple had been in Haiti for 2 1/2 months volunteering at the orphanage and planned to be there until April. The sudden exit has left Desmarais feeling they have some unfinished business there.

"I feel like we have to go back … some day," said Desmarais, adding the plight of the Haitians is now more dire than ever.

'Before this happened, they had basically nothing. Now they have less than nothing.'—Lucien Desmarais

"Before this happened, they had basically nothing. Now they have less than nothing," he said.

Desmarais and St-Hilaire are among 1,206 Canadians who have come back to Canada since the quake hit.

On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the number of Canadians known to have been killed in the Haiti quake remains at 12, while another 699 are still unaccounted for.

Winnipeg council donates $36,000

Winnipeg's city council on Tuesday pledged $36,000 to support Haitian relief efforts and encouraged Winnipeggers to do what they can to help ease the suffering.

"Winnipeggers are known for there generosity and for banding together to support tragedies that occur at home or abroad," said Mayor Sam Katz.

"Our thoughts continue to be with the Haitian people, all of the aid workers, and the family and friends who have lost loved ones and who are still praying for the safe return of those still missing.

"No country should have to experience this level of devastation and I encourage all Winnipeggers to do what they can to ease the suffering in Haiti."

The city's donation will be given to relief coordinated through the Canadian Red Cross.

Manitoba gives $100,000

On Jan. 13 Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger pledged a $100,000 donation to the Manitoba Council for International Co-operation (MCIC), which he said will ensure the money will be used for aid and reconstruction in Haiti.

The MCIC is described by the province as an independent coalition of development organizations that oversees the distribution of development dollars.

It works with member organizations to identify on-the-ground needs and acts to ensure assistance is distributed fairly and where it can provide the most benefit.