Some would say it almost amounts to a blame but nature's way of making teen years fantastically memorable is to get the young one to become completely self-absorbed during that phase. (To think many adults live their entire lives in this state!).

So it is not unusual for a teenager to think he or she is the centre of the world but once in every while, things happen to allow this focus to shift.

Like it did with Sara and her sister Saadia Amanulla.

Sara, 18, and Saadia, 19, of Sri Lankan origin were brought up in the UAE. Currently the two are studying BBA in Management and BSc in Psychology, respectively, at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Says Sara, "Ever since I can remember, I have been spending summer vacations back home in Sri Lanka with my family. Even as young girls, Sadiaa and I would make it a point to accompany our uncle and aunt on their visit to Fathima Orphanage in Colombo that houses 85 girls aged between 3 and 15 years."

And each time they went there, the girls resolved that they would spend more time with the kids in the orphanage on their next visit. Of course, it did not happen exactly that way.

Till last summer.

"Last holiday, we flew from Canada to Sharjah, and onwards to Sri Lanka along with the rest of the family," says Sadiaa.

As usual they visited the Fathima Orphanage - but this time they were not accompanied by their relatives.

The girls were on their own. They took along English language study material and spent some hours getting the girls involved with English language exercises.

"The response we received was overwhelming," says Sara.

"Interacting with the children really made a difference. During our previous visits, everything was very formal: the girls would merely greet us and get back to whatever they were doing. This time, though a bit shy at first, they opened up and started talking freely once they warmed to us. But, sadly, we realised that we had gone there unprepared with any gifts ..."

That left the Sara and Saadia with another new resolve. They asked the matron if they could visit again. They could, the matron replied, after the girls had sat for their annual exams.

A fortnight later, from the money Sadiaa and Sara had saved while at university, they bought some presents - mainly stationery and sweets.

They also roped in eight more girls - cousins and friends from Dubai who were also on a visit to Sri Lanka. To top off the experience, they decided to also hold a few fun competitions and give away prizes.

On the appointed day, the 10 girls set out with the goodies to meet their new-found friends.

"Although the day began on a rather slow note - with some girls not wanting to participate and a few little girls demanding their prizes before the competitions took place! - gradually, it fell into place!" laughs Sara at the memory of it.

The games finally got going - Rounders (a local version of baseball), Dog and Bone, Lime and Spoon, Musical Chairs and Pass the Parcel ... the girls of Fathima Orphanage began to have fun like they never had before.

"When we were giving out the gifts, the children were so thrilled and so appreciative that I was taken aback by their gratefulness. Until then, I rarely appreciated things. I just took everything (in life) for granted. But the glow on a girl's face when she received a pencil or some sweets ...

"As we were leaving, they waved us goodbye chanting, 'Come again Sara and Saadia daatha (elder sister)'. I felt as if we were leaving part of us behind. It was a very sad feeling," says Saadia.

Little acts of kindness go a long way, the sisters can see that quite clearly today. "If you can put a smile on someone's face, just go ahead and do it ..." says Sara.

"We're definitely going back to the orphanage next year now that we know that there's so much we can do to make those kids happy."