And while those Wesley students were outside sending their message - inside Wesley church 300 students from Wesley upper were receiving certificates.
They participated in the Gang Resistance Education and Training Programme - known as GREAT. It is a 13 week programme facilitated by a police officer which teaches them how to resist the pressures of entering gangs and Corporal Hortense Hernandez explained that the first step is getting them to overcome their reflexive dislike for police.
WCpl. Hortense Hernandez, G.R.E.A.T. Program Facilitator - Wesley Upper
"It follows by teaching children how to make good decisions. It teaches the myth about gangs, what gangs are not, what gangs will do to entice them to become a part of them. It teaches them how to control their anger; how to assist their colleague when they are in the same anger situation as such."
"I can't say that this will change their lives, but if they use the skills that I have taught them then they will be better citizens and more able to make better decisions for their life, not just as a child but when they become adults also."
"There is no guarantee with nothing but if they used the skills that I have taught them they will be better productive citizens."
Marion Ali, LOVE NEWS
"The harsh reality is that the economic situation is rough out here, their needs are forever there and temptations are about."
WCpl. Hortense Hernandez
"We know that those are true but we have to look at life more positively and stop looking at negative things. Not all the children will make the right choice but the point is if one in every class do it and change him/her - he can speak to somebody and carry this on."
Nicole Welch Middleton, Principal - Wesley Upper
"Actually we had a major change, the students started to implement what Cpl. Hernandez taught them. When they get into a problem you would hear them stop and think 'remember Cpl. Hernandez says that we should deal with this issue like this' and so we had a lot of calming down. When she comes to our school the children run and give her hugs, so that why I know that they didn't carry that bad image of the police."
WCpl. Hortense Hernandez
"When I first went to the school there was some sort of resistance mainly from the female children. Yes the boys give resistance too but when I enter the classroom in my uniform they had some sort of resistance but now, I don't know if you were in the church just now - you saw their behaviors - they have indeed change."
The programme is also ongoing in three other schools on the southside.
