Brothers Shaheen and Hussain Moghadamshaidie knew exactly what they wanted to do when they arrived in Australia after close to a year spent inside immigration detention centres.
The pair are both talented judo athletes and had missed practicing their beloved sport since fleeing Iran with their family in 2012.
With the help of parents Ali and Mailiheh, they found a judo club near their home in western Sydney and began lessons under coach and club president, Rob Katz.
Mr Katz says the boys' talent instantly stood out.
"The boys show a great natural talent, they've got really good fighting spirit in them," he says.
"It was amazing to me that the one of the first things they wanted to do when they came out of the detention centre was judo".
Hussain, 16, told SBS he and his brother felt they had found a home away from home.
"This club has a really kind coach and really friendly classmates," he says. "It's like a big family."
But with both parents on bridging visas and unable to work, the cost of training proved too much for the family.
"They had been training in the club for about three weeks and one day we were running a session and I noticed the boys weren't on the mat," Mr Katz says.
"Ali came and he was sitting in the corner watching and I went and talked to him and he said 'we just don't have the money to train'."
'A fighting spirit'
The Moghadamshaidie family are no strangers to setbacks.
In 2012, they fled their native Iran out of fear for their safety.
But after the boat they were travelling on was intercepted by the Australian Navy, the family were placed inside a detention facility on Christmas Island.
Two months later, they were transferred to the Manus Island detention centre, where they stayed for just over seven months.
It was only after Mailiheh became pregnant that the family was brought to Australia and settled in north Parramatta last year. The couple had their third child, baby Benjamen, a short time later.
They are awaiting an outcome on their claim for asylum and hold hope they can stay in the society that has so far embraced them.
Speaking through an interpreter, Ali told SBS that throughout it all, the family has always loved judo, a sport that is hugely popular in Iran.
"Number one, it's a very exciting sport," he says. "Number two, you have to put your mind through it, deeply. Seventy per cent is mental."
In it together
Hearing about the family's financial state came as a shock to coach Rob Katz, who said there was no question he would help the boys continue to train.
"The club can afford to support them and get them on their feet, so it's not even a consideration," he says.
The club has now decided to pay the boys' training and registration fees for a year and – with the help of a sponsor – provide them both with uniforms.
Mother Mailiheh says the family had been overwhelmed by the generous offer.
"It was a very happy feeling; it lifted the spirits of the boys," she says.
Ali agrees the gesture had given them all hope.
"I see the future very positively, he says. "When the society accepts people in a positive way, obviously the future is bright."
Both boys say they hope to compete at the Olympic Games one day and Mr Katz - who coached his wife Kerrye to the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 - hopes they stay focused on that dream.
"I know they want to go to the Olympics so if that's what they are dreaming of, anything is possible," he says.
But for now, the teenagers are just enjoying being a part of the judo community and making new friends.
"Too many friends," Hussain laughs.
Want to pass on a message of support to Hussain and Shaheen? Tweet us @SBSNews or @SylviaVarnham
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