For more than a decade, APOPO, a Belgian NGO headquartered in Tanzania, has used scent-detecting giant African pouched rats (Cricetomys) to detect landmines and other explosive remnants of war and to detect human tuberculosis. APOPO has also explored other potential humanitarian applications of the rats. For several years, my students and I have worked with other APOPO personnel to ascertain how well the rats perform in detecting landmines and in finding tuberculosis, to devise strategies to increase the rats' effectiveness and efficiency, and to extend the range of valuable services they can provide. This presentation summarizes what we have learned.