For most people, the prospect of climbing one of the worldB次元官网网址檚 tallest mountains might seem more than a little intimidating.

Months of training, travelling halfway around the world, dealing with altitude sickness, health risks and unreliable weather are challenges and luxuries few can afford and even fewer crave.

But Malti Devi isnB次元官网网址檛 your average woman.

B次元官网网址淚 want to find out what IB次元官网网址檓 capable of,B次元官网网址� says Devi, her eyes widening with intention.

In August, Devi, 37, plans to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, not only to test her endurance, but to raise funds for Children of Haiti, a City of Langford charity that has already raised more than $250,000 to build and operate an orphanage near Port-au-Prince after the countryB次元官网网址檚 devastating earthquake in 2010.

But itB次元官网网址檚 her personal climb from the dusty farming fields of the South Pacific that make DeviB次元官网网址檚 story so inspiring.

She grew up as the youngest of four daughters on a sugarcane farm on the outskirts of Tavarau, Fiji.

B次元官网网址淚 was one of those little kids that stood on the side of the road, selling vegetables in bare feet in the gravel,B次元官网网址� she recalls, once a sponsor child herself.

B次元官网网址淩emembering those days, coming home, being hungry, you never outlive that,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淎nd I donB次元官网网址檛 want to outlive it, because thatB次元官网网址檚 what has kept me grounded.B次元官网网址�

At 21, her family sent her to live with relatives in Chilliwack, hoping for better opportunities. She arrived with $65 in her pocket, and admits her naivet茅 would have been her undoing, were it not for several serendipitous people she met along the way.

B次元官网网址淎cademically, I was smart, but I was not street smart,B次元官网网址� she says.

She learnt English working in a fast food restaurant and by doing accounting work at a local agriculture company, but knew she was destined for greater things.

B次元官网网址�(My first employers) took a shot in the dark, they didnB次元官网网址檛 know me or owe me anything, but they helped me. I want to do that for somebody else.B次元官网网址�

To simplify the petite, 5-foot-2 entrepreneurB次元官网网址檚 accomplishments in the 16 years since coming to Canada would be a disservice.

Her formal training is in graphic design, a venture that brought her to Victoria in 2000 to attend the Pacific Academy of Design.

But in an average whirlwind week the Fijian native also does photography, marketing for a biofuel company and still manages to fit in several hours of daily training for her climb.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the worldB次元官网网址檚 tallest free-standing peak at 5,898 metres and second in elevation only to Mt. Everest.

Tanzanian officials donB次元官网网址檛 permit climbers to make the trek in less than five days, and despite its reputation as the least punishing of the global seven summits, Devi cautions the task is no casual jaunt.

A veteran of regional peaks, she has a habit of bringing a pair of high heels on each climb. She straps them on at the summit, B次元官网网址渓ike a race car changing its tires,B次元官网网址� and captures proof of her feat.

Kilimanjaro will be no exception, says the self-professed tomboy.

B次元官网网址淚n Fiji, the ultimate goal is to be a housewife B次元官网网址� to cook, clean and sew,B次元官网网址� she says, her confidence belying her humble roots.

B次元官网网址淚 want to be that, and be a businesswoman and a humanitarian all at the same time.B次元官网网址�

Judging from her list of accomplishments, it seems sheB次元官网网址檚 already well on her way to conquering those mountains.

To donate to Children for Haiti or sponsor Devi on her climb, visit malti.ca.