KENNEBUNK — The students in Kennebunk High School’s Interact Club are already a well-traveled bunch. But next week, they embark on one of the most important journeys of their young lives.

On Thursday, the group heads for Guatemala, a republic of about 14 million people situated at the southern tip of Mexico’s comet tail. An impoverished country in which nearly 60 percent of its population lives below the poverty line, it’s not the kind of place one typically thinks of as a sought-after vacation spot. And that’s the point ”“ because it’s not rest and relaxation the Interact Club is after.

Far from it.

For seven days, group members will rise early, tools in hand, and go to work. By the end of their visit, a Guatemalan family in the town of Concepción will have a new home, as well as a luxury that’s rare in this little sliver of Latin America: A water filtration system.

That such basic sanitary amenities are scarce in Concepción speaks volumes of the world into which these high school students will enter.

“This is still a part of the world where people die of diarrhea,” said Melissa Luetje, the Interact Club’s advisor. “They’re going to see a side of poverty they’ve never seen, except on TV.”

Among other places, individual club members have traveled to locales as far-flung as Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Netherlands. Never before, however, have they faced the prospect of traveling for the purpose of improving peoples’ lives.

“Usually when I go overseas, it’s more of a vacation, and a luxury,” said senior Kaitlyn Cimenian. “This time, we’re not there just taking pictures. We’re actually working.”

They owe the experience, in part, to the Rotary Club of Kennebunk, which contributes $3,000 to the Interact Club every two years. Partners in Development, an organization based in Ipswich, Mass., which provides assistance to the extreme poor in locations such as Guatemala and Haiti, also played a large role: Gail Hull, PID’s founder, is acquainted personally with people whose family hails from Concepción, and she provided the inspiration for the KHS club’s trek to Guatemala in 2011.

Only one student from that trip remains in the club; the rest have graduated. Current club members expect their worldview will be impacted significantly by what they see, and with precedent. Of the six seniors who went to Guatemala two years ago, five chose college majors that pertained either to civil engineering or to providing medical assistance to the poor, members said.

Still, it’s hard to know exactly what to expect.

“I’m not going to know the impact until I go and realize the full scope of it,” said junior Abby McGee.

Others have already found a new level of appreciation for what they have.

“We’re really lucky to be born in a place that isn’t suffering like a lot of these Third World countries,” said junior Emileigh Durrell. “We’re always asking for more ”“ the newest iPad, the newest phone ”“ but these kids have nothing. They’re lucky to have clothes.”

To put together a mission of this magnitude takes dollars ”“ more than 20,000 of them. Airfare for each student makes up a chunk of the cost, as does room and board at a bare-bones Guatemalan hotel. The rest of the price tag is eaten up by supplies; not just construction materials, which will be needed to erect a structure from scratch, but medical supplies to account for any possible contingency.

The biannual donation from the Rotary Club certainly helps, but a majority was scraped together by the students themselves through a series of fundraising events. Each Interact student was charged with overseeing a particular fundraiser, and received assistance and support from the other members; two weeks ago, McGee helped organize an event at which participants, paying a small fee, released “lanterns” ”“ think miniature hot-air balloons ”“ into the air to pay tribute to lost loved ones, or others who have died. Twenty-six white lanterns were released to acknowledge the victims of the shooting massacre that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. in December.

Of course, it takes a high degree of organizational know-how to stage a fundraiser, but that’s a commodity of which the Interact Club has plenty. Its mission, its raison d’être, is to provide community service throughout the Kennebunks. Among the organizations it assists are the Animal Welfare Society, the Community Harvest Soup Kitchen, Relay For Life, the Child Abuse Prevention Council, and the Conservation Trust, among others.

Involvement in these endeavors has fostered a palpable closeness among Interact’s members.

“People think, ”˜Community service ”“ how can that be fun?’” said sophomore Benjamin Broughton. “But everyone here is a big family. When you’re working, you’re having fun at the same time.”

Luetje, who expressed extreme pride in her group, said attitudes like that build houses.

Looking forward, students expect Guatemala to be an intense experience.

“When we get back, that’s when we’ll realize just how intense it was, and how fortunate we are,” said senior Matt Uphmam.

In the meantime, a family stands to benefit from a new home. More than that, the group anticipates that their efforts will instill in Guatemalan children a sense of hope: Hope in possibilities, that a wider world exists beyond their poverty.

Senior Sochardtra Kea stated it simply: “Some people besides their families actually care about them,” he said.

The group can be followed at www.khsinteract.org.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319 or [email protected].