The yellow mangoes of June hang from trees across northern Uganda like lanterns in the sky.
Ripe, sweet and abundant, they signal a season many children eagerly await. But this year, the fruit has become an unexpected source of tragedy, with hospitals reporting a growing number of injuries linked to falls from mango trees.
In Omiri Parish, Iceme Sub-county in Oyam District, seven-year-old Fibi lies on a hospital bed, her future uncertain after a fall that has left her struggling to speak coherently.
On June 10, her parents left home to attend a funeral in a neighbouring village. Fibi, a Primary Two pupil at Omiri Primary School, walked home with friends after classes ended.
Along the way stood a mango tree heavy with ripe fruit.
‘Today I will climb where no child has ever reached,’ Fibi reportedly told her friends as she stared at the golden mangoes hanging high above.
According to her mother, hunger pushed the child up the tree.
‘She picked two mangoes and ate them quickly. Then she stretched higher for another one. The branch gave way and she fell,’ she recalled.
Fibi’s nine-year-old sister carried her to a nearby clinic for first aid before neighbours alerted the family.
She was later referred from Aboke Health Centre IV to Lira Regional Referral Hospital, where she remains admitted in the female surgical ward.
Her mother says the child was unconscious for three days.
‘Since June 13, she talks, but not in ways anyone can understand,’ she said.
When this reporter visited the ward on Sunday, Fibi occasionally muttered disconnected words.
‘Kella ogwal ogwal,’ she whispered, asking for a frog.
Her case is one of several reported during this year’s mango season.
At Aboke Health Centre IV, another patient was recovering after falling from a mango tree while allegedly attempting to harvest fruits from a neighbour’s compound. Medical examinations reportedly revealed multiple fractures around his waist.
In Aleka Sub-county, Oyam District, LC1 chairman Baker Okech said his son, a Primary Four pupil, broke both arms after falling from a mango tree in May.
Hospital records suggest such incidents are becoming increasingly common.
Officials at Lira Regional Referral Hospital say at least three children were admitted between June 13 and June 14 alone after falling from mango trees.
For many families, the incidents highlight the difficult realities facing rural communities, where children often climb trees to satisfy hunger, collect fruits for sale, or simply seek adventure.
Doctors warn that falls from tall trees can result in severe head injuries, fractures, spinal damage and, in some cases, permanent disability.
Community leaders are now urging parents and guardians to take preventive measures, including harvesting fruits using sticks or pruning trees to make fruits more accessible without climbing.
Health workers are also calling for increased awareness among children about the dangers associated with scaling tall trees.
‘The mangoes are sweet, but the risks are real,’ one health worker said.
Back at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, Fibi’s mother keeps a quiet vigil by her daughter’s bedside, holding her hand and hoping for recovery.
Outside, mango trees remain heavy with fruit.
Inside the ward, however, the season carries a different meaning.
For families affected by these accidents, the lesson is painfully clear: no mango is worth a broken body or a shattered future.