Upon the dispossession of the Palestinians, and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 on Palestinian land, East Jerusalem was part of the Palestinian area which did not fall under Israeli control. That area was annexed to Jordan until a solution to the Palestine question is found. The area was affected by the influx of refugees from the coastal towns of Palestine who depended on relief and United Nations rations.
     Under these circumstances, Elizabeth Nasir was on one of her inspection tours during a very wet and cold day in February 1952, when she ran across two little girls around six and five years old, hanging around on one of the streets of Ramallah north of Jerusalem at a late hour in the afternoon. Elizabeth Nasir writes:

     "The girls came up to me begging and when I asked them why they were doing that, they explained that they were supporting their old parents who lived in a nearby village. They also told me that the taxi drivers had pity on them and gave them free lifts back to their village. My conscience pricked me and I accompanied them to their home, and to my horror, I found out that they lived in a bare hovel with torn sack cloth on the floor. The mother was blind, and the father was sick and shivering as it was bitterly cold, and with no food whatsoever around. I could not hold back my tears and I was determined to put an end to their misery and humiliation. There were hardly any orphanages at that time, so I appealed to the Judge to allow me to put the girls up temporarily in the Reformatory. I realized that the Reformatory was not the ideal place for those young girls, but at least they would have shelter and food. So I was very glad when my appeal was granted specially when the medical examination showed that those two girls had been molested and they had venereal disease."

      That incident set "Lizzy" out to fulfill her mission. She was determined to provide a home for destitute girls so that they could earn an honorable living. She was personally on the streets looking for such girls, and searching for them in hovels and caves that were part of the landscape where penniless families took refuge. At the beginning it was a struggle with the girls and the whole family, but gradually the parents started seeking help when they realized what kind of care she was giving to their daughters. With the generous support of the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, who had provided her with the first seed money for the project, and the help of many other friends, Elizabeth was able to launch a program in house-keeping, hygiene, literacy, embroidery, religious education and music; all taught at this special home for destitute girls. The home started with twenty five girls and by using part of her own home for the project which Lizzy dedicated the rest of her life for; a full life which ended on April 2, 1987.