Kathmandu, Jan. 7 -- Prabesh Jha was only 10 years old when his father left for Kuwait to work in a factory. Jha has not seen his father for eight years and he feels a disconnect.

"When we talk on the phone, all we say is how we are," said Jha, who is now 18. "We are more like acquaintances than father and son."

In the eight years that Jha's father has been away, he hasn't visited home even once.

With thousands of migrant workers leaving the country for work abroad every year, countless children like Jha are left behind to grow up without their fathers and mothers. From 2008 to 2017, Nepal issued a total of 3.5 million labour permits, according to the Asia Foundation. Among them, 85 percent have migrated to Malaysia and the Gulf countr...