SAN DIEGO -- Globally recognized straight ally Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda will stop in San Diego on Saturday for a fundraising brunch at a private home in the San Diego neighborhood of Talmadge.

Yona Okoth (pictured below) was the Anglican Archbishop of Uganda from 1984 to 1995. He described himself as “ just a man from the jungle” and rose from obscurity to head the 10 million member Church of Uganda representing a third of his country’s population.

I met him in 1991 when he asked for help to combat the spread of AIDS. He had an “AIDS conversion experience” in 1988 after he dramatically spoke at the Lambeth Conference of worldwide Anglican bishops.

I visited the AIDS Service Center in Pasadena several months ago with Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda.

The most poignant moment was seeing 90 satchels lined up against the conference room wall with names of children who would be going to local schools while living with HIV. It was a symbol of how this 25-year-old agency has adapted to serve an eighth of Los Angeles County residents living with HIV.

The new executive director, Anthony Guthmiller, told me how things had changed from the early days with support groups and one full time mental health specialist.

It is heartbreaking to read some of the stories of the 120 people who have applied for scholarships to the St. Paul’s Foundation so they can come to the World AIDS Conference in July in Washington, D.C.

Two particular accounts give us windows into what it is like for millions of LGBT people globally.