In life, you can be anything you want to be. All it takes is getting into the right mental perspective, putting in the hard work and dedication, and within no time, all the blocks will fall into place.

Yvonne Apiyo Brandle Amolo is a great example of this phenomenon. She used to work as a guest relations officer at Sarova Hotel. But now, she holds a very high legislative position in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Amolo now works as a Member of Parliament in Bern, Switzerland. As noted in a past publication, an MP earns approximately Sh. 22.8 million yearly (CHF 142,000) which translates to around Sh. 1.86 million monthly.

Ms Amolo talked to Citizen TV about her tough journey to become a Swiss citizen. She had to renounce Kenyan citizenship, relocate to Switzerland, and join the Social Democratic Party to become a Member of Parliament in Switzerland.

She recalled a confrontation she had with immigration authorities who wanted to send her back to Kenya. But through this struggle, she managed to navigate her way into the highest levels of politics in the country.

She’s now one of 245 Members of Parliament elected to represent the people. Her path to becoming a Swiss citizen began when she met a Swiss man who worked as a crew member for an airline.

“The Swiss Air usually rents apartments for their crew to stay in. He was a member of the Swiss Aircrew, I was guest relations at Sarova,” she said.

“That’s how I got to meet him because they (crew) had to ask me for everything they needed so we became friends; it progressed then he asked me to visit him in Switzerland,” Yvonne Amolo added.

One month after she arrived in Switzerland, the man proposed to her and she willingly agreed. Eventually, they got married.

One of the major challenges she faced was the inability to speak any of the 4 languages; German, Italian, French and Rhaeto-Romanic.

What saved her was her Luo community musical roots which taught her how to yodel, a vocal technique that entails a 6-note jump from chest voice to head voice with a voice break in between.

The love story with the Swiss man didn’t last, and they separated in 2009. Then, in 2012, she received a notice from the immigration department informing her that her citizenship would be revoked.

Being a law-abiding citizen in the country, this did not sit down well with her. She decided to take legal action against the immigration agency for singling her out. She even went as far as creating a film called ‘Not Swiss Made’, which helped her retain her passport.

The movie became a big hit in the country, winning over 25 awards. This forced the immigration agency to back down on its deportation threat.

Yvonne narrated that someone at the party she currently serves in was impressed by the fight she put describing it as ‘at a level we have never seen’. This party member reached out to the local leader in her area and inquired if she would like to enter politics.

She agreed to join the Social Democratic Party under the condition that they would sponsor her education. They put her through school, covering the expenses.

Additionally, the party assured her that she wouldn’t have to repay the money if she completed her education and chose not to pursue a career in politics.

“They held their end of the bargain, they put me on the list, people voted for me, and I got in,” she said, adding that she is also a Swiss Military member.