Can fashion change the world? Absolutely. At least that’s what BUDU, an NYU-student-run fashion initiative, is proving. The brainchild of Camilla Hermann, a Gallatin junior, BUDU is a fashion initiative that has successfully raised money for the education of women and children in Africa and is still doing so.

The BUDU lookbook features a colorful mix of lively African patterns, and fabrics are structured in feminine, flirty cuts, perfect for summers in the city. The designs are ethnic, contemporary, and urban, not unlike something you would find at Oak or Opening Ceremony, but so much more meaningful — these are entirely handmade pieces that have traveled from Africa, and are also Eco-friendly and sustainable, as a partnership with Of Rags, a fair trade sustainable fashion line, promises.

The idea for the line, Camilla tells me, was born when she visited a Liberian refugee camp in Ghana, where she was studying abroad. while there, the “serious predicament of the vocational schools”– schools that the women at the camp had created to teach other women skills to survive and benefit the community– struck her. “The landowning church…kept raising their rent,” she noticed. The women could no longer pay for their rent and the schools were in jeopardy of closing down.

So Camilla and a few friends took matters into their own hands. They commissioned the women to create clothing and jewelry out of materials that they supplied themselves, and paid the women handsomely after wards for their work so they could keep the school running. Now, the clothing items created have been brought back to New York City and will be showcased and sold in an upcoming fashion show.

But that’s not all. BUDU is part of a larger initiative also spearheaded by Hermann, the SCHEF Organization, a non-profit organization specifically committed to providing support to Ghanaian woman and children who are forced into commercial sex work due to poor refugee camp conditions. [Edit: Camilla runs the organization with two other juniors, Lizzie Glaeser and Anna Bjerknes, who both spent last semester in Ghana with her.] Accordingly, all proceeds from the upcoming BUDU fashion show will contribute to the building of a Teaching Kitchen, one of SCHEFO’s main projects.

The Teaching Kitchen, as SCHEFO’s website puts it, will be “a sanctuary for single mothers and their children who have run out of options.” Women and children will learn how to cook nutritional meals in a friendly, educational setting while also learning important skills taught by professional social workers and medical staff. SCHEFO is now raising money through their events to make this happen.

Charmed, like I am? Anybody can get involved by simply telling friends about SCHEFO, and following the organization on Twitter and Facebook. They also have a blog here. Camilla tells me that they are always looking for volunteers and interns, so students can email info@schefo.org to attend one of their weekly Wednesday meetings. They will also send out a tweet when the upcoming dates for events and the fashion show are finalized.

That’s fashion and a good cause — two things definitely too good to pass on.