About Lali Guras

From a Viber group chat to a community that lifts each other up — this is our story.

Our Story

Laliguras began as a simple group chat on Viber — a place where Nepali women in the Chicago area could connect, share, and support one another. What started as casual conversations quickly grew into something deeper: a community where women felt free to express themselves, celebrate each other, and find strength in togetherness.

Named after Nepal's national flower, the rhododendron (Lali Guras), our organization embodies the beauty, resilience, and vibrancy of the women we serve. Just as the Lali Guras blooms in even the most challenging terrain, our members continue to thrive — together.

Today, Laliguras is a registered non-profit dedicated to inspiring women to be strong and smart, promoting healthy lifestyles, encouraging social involvement, and working towards becoming one big family that has a lot to offer.

Jyoti Adhikary

Founder, Lali Guras

A Message from Our Founder

I am a happy working mother of three children, but I have felt like I am missing something. I have everything, but I still have a nagging feeling of missing something in my life. I have asked myself if this is all there is. Then I realized that my life has become monotonous doing the same things over and over, and that I have been holding back my true feelings about life in general.

I thought to myself that if I feel it this way, then there must be others who feel the same way as well. Slowly, I made some very good close friends. Time spent with them began helping me decompress. It became a break from my regular chores and renewed my energy.

I then started to notice that there were other people who were struggling as well. I began to think that I must do something to help others instead of just standing by. I wanted to create a place where we all feel important, loved and safe. With this feeling in mind I started Laliguras — a group chat in Viber. Slowly, Laliguras has become a platform where each of us can freely express ourselves.

When I came to America I realized that we Nepali people are not able to stay together as one Nepali family in this vast country. I also realized that there was some emotional friction between groups of people. Slowly but surely, we are going to be in a social mess if we are not already.

I always wanted to start an organization where we all feel equally important and equally responsible. I wanted a platform where women are comfortable to express their feelings and problems. It is not about who donates more than others, or who is a member of the board, or who has connections. It is all about sticking together and doing common good for all of us, for our generation, for our community and for our country. I wanted to represent an organization where we can solve problems and not just talk about them.

Laliguras is an organization which functions at the local level and is dedicated to inspiring all women to be strong and smart. We are dedicated to promoting healthy life styles, encouraging social involvement and working towards becoming one big family that has a lot to offer.

— Jyoti Adhikary