Violet Awindi Barasa (June 21, 1975, Sikhendu village,

Bungoma District Bungoma District was a district in the former Western Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Bungoma. It had an area of 2,069 km2. In 1956, Elgon Nyanza District was split from North Nyanza District. The new district was headquartered at Bu ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

– February 12, 2007,

Webuye Webuye, previously named Broderick Falls, is an industrial town in western region of Kenya and home to the Tachoni people. It is located within Webuye West sub county in Bungoma County, at the slopes of chetambe hill Kenya. Located on th ...

) was a

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player from

. Her surname is sometimes spelled as Baraza. She was a long-time captain for the

n women's national volleyball team. Baraza represented Kenya in the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Olympic Games, three times in the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

and in numerous continental events.

Life

Barasa was born in 1975 and she attended Lugulu High School which is known for its support for volleyball. She began by playing volleyball for the

Kenya Commercial Bank KCB Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licensed as a commercial bank, by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator. The bank has also been running an agency banking ...

and from there she was included in

Kenya women's national volleyball team The Kenya women's national volleyball team, the ''Malkia Strikers'', represents Kenya in international volleyball competitions. Kenya has dominated the African continent since the 1990s, winning the Women's African Volleyball Championship a recor ...

. She was one of the few Kenyan players to play professional volleyball abroad, for

Al Ahly Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, Vileo and Unic-Romania in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, Panellinios in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and Dicle University in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

.Daily Nation, February 14, 2007
''Kenya volleyball star Barasa passes away''
/ref> As national team captain she led the national team to its appearances at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. She died in February 2007 at the Webuye District Hospital of undisclosed causes. At the time of her death, she was still an active player with the

volleyball club, although she had been dropped from the national team. After her death volleyball matches were postponed in Kenya until after her funeral as a mark of respect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barasa, Violet 1975 births 2007 deaths Kenyan women's volleyball players 21st-century Kenyan sportswomen Kenyan Luhya people Olympic volleyball players for Kenya Volleyball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics