Shyam and Bina Sainju moved to Sydney from Nepal in 1995, just before the birth of their first child.

Eighteen years later and their son Vivek Sainju, is striving to get to the top of a once foreign sporting code known as AFL.

In Nepal they were familiar with Sherpas and mountain climbing, not shepherds and climbing over opponents to take a mark, which are the hallmarks of AFL.

When Vivek’s parents moved to the western Sydney suburb of Campsie, they were exposing themselves to a number of challenging experiences.

They had never been out of Nepal.

They couldn’t speak fluent English.

And they’d never heard of this Australian code of football played by big men in ‘short shorts’.

Shyam and Bina moved to the other side of the world for a better lifestyle, and the birth of their son Vivek came within 12 months, a milestone that eventually led them to be part of a new Australian sporting culture.

“In Nepal the major sports are cricket and soccer, so when they came here and heard about AFL they were really confused,’’ Vivek said.  

These days Shyam works hard, running a Nepalese restaurant, and Bina is often busy with Vivek’s two younger siblings.

Vivek, meanwhile, spends countless hours in pursuit of his dream of playing AFL football.

There has never been a player in the AFL with Nepalese heritage.

But this fact is not enough to stop ‘Viv’ in his quest.

In 2003, an 8-year-old Viv fell in love with Australian football after being introduced to it by a friend, leaving his parents with little choice whether to like it or not.

“They were reluctant at first, but when they saw my passion for the game they went along with it, they helped and supported me and now they are right into it,” Viv said.

Vivek began playing with the Newtown Swans, but his passion and his talent have driven him to be involved in various representative teams.

Now he is a member of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy under-18 squad, and he trains twice a week at the SCG.

“AFL is fun, it’s got everything. You’ve got to run, you’ve got to have strength, speed, and you need lots of skills just to play this game,” he said.

The busy life of his parents meant he had to quickly learn to become independent if he wanted to continue to improve his skills and play the game he loved.

“A lot of public transport – trains, buses, whatever it takes. I need to go to that effort to keep up with it. My parents support me in everything I do, but when it comes to me, I make my own way,” he said.

A dedicated youngster, Vivek has aspirations to get selected by the Swans in the 2014 AFL Draft.

The Sydney Swans Academy began in 2010 to provide elite coaching and facilities to the best young athletes, certainly benefiting Vivek, who credits a lot of his development to the program.

Vivek’s 14-year-old brother is also a member of the Academy, after showing similar enthusiasm for the sport from a young age.

“It’s been the greatest program, I’ve developed a lot. Good mates, developed pretty much everything - communication, life skills and footy skills - everything. It’s the whole package really,” he said.

QBE Sydney Swans Academy Talent ID and Operations Manager Chris Smith said Vivek is a great member of the Academy.

“Vivek has attributes that he shows towards his focus and commitment. He prioritises and organises his Academy training, school and other family commitments. We also need boys with great running ability, which Vivek has,” Smith said.

And now Vivek dreams, not of climbing mountains in his parents’ homeland, but of scaling the heights as an AFL player.

“Hopefully I can get drafted by the Swans. That’s the dream, but I still have to work my way up there, there’s a lot more work to do,” he said.